Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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50 APRIL 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TODD D. BURLAGE A lready considered the best fenc- ing program in the country, Notre Dame became the all-time winningest sports program in university history on March 27 when it claimed its second consecutive national title and its 12th overall, surpassing football (11) for the most Fighting Irish team championships. Competing on its home strips inside Purcell Pavilion as the event host, Notre Dame (189) finished 21 points ahead of second second-place Harvard (168) and third-place Columbia (also 168 points). The national title was the fourth for ninth-year head coach Gia Kvaratskhe- lia, whose team also took top honors in 2017, 2018 and 2021. Kvaratskhelia explained that this title run was especially sweet because the championship last year came against a limited competition field thinned by COVID-19. "Coming back from a year where a lot of schools did not get to participate, we had a lot to prove," Kvaratskhelia told UND.com. "There was a lot of specula- tions, it was a challenge for us to come back and prove to everyone that we are one of the top programs in the country." Like they did last season, the Irish fencers qualified the maximum number of 12 athletes for the championships and scored one individual national title and claimed 11 All-America spots, three on the first team, eight on the second. On the second day of competition March 25, sophomore Kaylin Hsieh from Hong Kong won the women's epee crown, becoming the sixth Irish female to do so in that event. Hsieh finished 21-2 overall at the championships in a domi- nating performance that also earned her first-team All-America honors. Following are the other 2022 Notre Dame All-Americans: • Junior Amita Berthier, the national runner-up in women's foil, secured first-team All-America honors. • Sophomore Atara Greenbaum fin- ished national runner-up in the wom- en's sabre to earn first-team honors. • Senior Kara Linder was fifth in weapon class and secured a spot on the second team. • Freshman Nicole Pustilnik, who finished sixth in women's foil in her first NCAA appearance, claimed second- team honors. • Sophomore Amanda Pirkowski, who finished eighth in epee, secured a second-team All-America selection. • Senior Nick Itkin won 15 bouts and finished sixth in the men's foil to earn second-team honors. • Senior Andrew Machovec won 16 bouts and finished fifth in men's foil to earn second-team honors. • Sophomore Luke Linder, the de- fending national champion in men's sabre, finished seventh in the event to claim second-team honors. • Senior Jared Smith, the national runner-up in men's sabre last year, fin- ished seventh in 2022 to claim a spot on the second team. • Junior Hunter Candreva, making his first NCAA appearance, finished sev- enth for second-team honors. ✦ Fencers Claim The Program's 12th National Championship Sophomore Kaylin Hsieh captured the women's epee national title, becoming the sixth Irish female to do so in that event. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS ND SPORTS It took the nation's top-ranked team and the hottest goaltender in college hockey to cut short Notre Dame's NCAA Tournament run on March 26, with the Irish suffering a 1-0 loss to Minnesota State in the Albany Regional final. A win would have given the third-seeded Fighting Irish a fifth trip to the NCAA Frozen Four during head coach Jeff Jackson's 17 years on the Notre Dame bench. Instead, the top-seeded Mavericks (37-5-0) recorded their 17th straight victory, their second consecutive trip to the Frozen Four and now need two wins to claim their first-ever national championship. "They are a tough team to play against," Jackson said after the loss. "They do a good job of possessing the puck. They have a lot of experienced guys, and that makes it a challenge going up against them." With three power-play opportunities and trailing by only one goal through the second and third periods, Notre Dame had its chances. But it managed only six shots on those three opportunities. Minnesota State senior goaltender Dryden McKay recorded 23 saves in the shutout victory. "We don't have the offensive depth as some of the teams we play against," Jackson said. "Our philosophy is to defend well and then transition from it. The problem is we didn't get many transition opportunities." While falling one win short of a Frozen Four appearance wasn't the pre- ferred result in Albany, Jackson said he is proud of his guys after a 28-12-0 season that included eight wins in its last 10 games, despite the team battling injuries and illness the last several weeks. "That's how you win," Jackson said. "You win with character and gutsi- ness, and the group exemplified that. I'm extremely proud of what they accomplished." The fact that Notre Dame won its first NCAA game and how it did it on March 24 needs to be revisited one more time given the bizarre circum- stances that surrounded its 2-1 overtime victory over North Dakota in the opening round of the 16-team tournament. Tied at 1-1, the Irish looked to have won a rare hockey buzzer beater and secured a 2-1 victory in regulation when graduate student defenseman Adam Karashik tucked in a rebound shot that appeared to beat the final buzzer by less than half a second, based on ESPN replays. Following a wild celebration from the Irish players believing the game was over — and a 13-minute review by the officials — the goal was waved off, and the game sent to overtime. Regrouping in the locker room during the overtime intermission, Notre Dame didn't pout or wallow in self-pity. Instead, it needed only 1:38 into overtime when Irish senior center Graham Slaggert ended the game on a 25- foot power play goal to set up the second-round game with Minnesota State. — Todd D. Burlage Irish Hockey Team Sees Its Season End In Elite Eight